Yuri Gagarin will forever be known as the first man in outer space. The Russian cosmonaut’s 108 minute journey was the start of his short but eventful second life as an international hero. Here is a nice approach to his story – a real-time animation with voice over of Yuri’s life from ObtainEudaimonia.

In 1969 this cosmonaut mannequin was sent around the Moon in the Zond 7 spacecraft as a precursor to a manned mission. Sensors were set into its body to measure radiation levels. Its face is in the image of Yuri Gagarin.

This unit was trialled in spaced by cosmonauts Viktorenko and Serebrov in 1990. It allowed a cosmonaut to manoeuvre independently in space. The cosmonaut would wear it like a backpack, operating controls on the hand panels. It propels the cosmonaut using small bursts of gas from nozzles.